IBHJ Chapter 888

"Hello," she greeted the angel without much enthusiasm. "And for the record, I'm not Crimson Moon. I'm Arcueid."

Though she had only recently mastered the King of the Moon's authority, Arcueid instantly recognized the golden-haired girl's true nature. Despite her sweet appearance, gentle voice, and perfect embodiment of humanity's angelic fantasies, she was essentially a spore of Venus's UO.

Venus's UO was an invasive, ecosystem-altering plant, and this angel girl, as a spore, was a predatory organism disguised in angelic form. Though she seemed sweet, her core was that of a top predator, preying on planets, ecosystems, even concepts.

The angel girl was enthusiastic and cheerful, but Arcueid found her deeply unsettling. She was certain the way the angel looked at her was how a predator sized up its prey. However, one thing puzzled her. While Gaia and ORT showed no emotional fluctuations, this angel seemed overly expressive.

"Hmm, while entering Earth's atmosphere, I accidentally knocked over a few human rockets," Venus explained with a bright smile. "So I sampled some human concepts from those astronauts. Since I'm communicating with a materialized Gaia, I simulated the most suitable personality for conversation. But I have to say, Alaya's taste is quite good."

Yup, definitely hate this girl. Arcueid scooted even further away.

"So, Gaia," the angel chirped, "you called for help, and I came all this way. How about a nice feast as a thank you?"

Gaia shook her head. "I refuse."

She turned to ORT. "Mercury, create a space to contain Venus."

ORT nodded, using its authority to seal the base of the Heaven's Corpse and place it within its Crystal Valley. However, as they were entities of similar scale, ORT's Crystal Valley couldn't fully contain the Heaven's Corpse. It could only prevent it from touching Earth, essentially creating a barrier between it and the planet's surface.

Seeing her main body confined within the Crystal Valley, Venus clicked her tongue in annoyance, glaring at ORT. This animosity was nothing new. She loathed Mercury, despised ORT.

"Venus, I need some spores," Gaia stated.

"Fine, but not for free. In exchange, you have to let me have a good meal afterwards. Don't worry, I won't mess with your ecosystem. I'll just absorb some concepts from deep-sea creatures," the golden-haired angel winked playfully. Of course, no one present found her gesture remotely cute.

Following Gaia's instructions, the Heaven's Corpse separated a few more spores. Gaia then had ORT imbue one of the spores with its sense of touch, allowing ORT to materialize in a normal form.

Arcueid finally understood Gaia's plan. After materializing, Gaia began to gather allies to help her survive the impending judgment. Although Tiamat, ORT, and even the Heaven's Corpse could clearly help Gaia, their massive bodies posed a significant risk. Any careless action could destroy Gaia's ecosystem before the judgment or the vortex's arrival. Therefore, Gaia called the Heaven's Corpse, allowing ORT to use one of its spores as a vessel to manifest. This way, even if they took action, it wouldn't harm Earth's environment.

Gaia's meticulous planning made Arcueid feel a pang of inadequacy. Gaia was supposedly imitating her, yet the straightforward Arcueid hadn't considered any of this. In fact, she began to doubt whether this cunning Gaia was truly imitating her at all. And if she wasn't mistaken, when Gaia mentioned providing Tiamat with a body to materialize in the physical world, she must have been referring to these spores as well.

But...

Arcueid glanced at the disgruntled Heaven's Corpse.

"Using my spores for her? I'm not happy about this, Gaia!" The golden-haired angel whined, clinging to Gaia's neck.

ORT, now materialized in a spore, simply glanced at her impassively. Unlike Arcueid and the Heaven's Corpse, ORT hadn't undergone any imitation and thus had no concept of emotions.

Gaia calmly removed the angel's arms and instructed Tiamat to imbue another spore with her sense of touch, materializing Tiamat in turn.

Gaia, Arcueid, ORT, the Heaven's Corpse, Tiamat... Each one of them could easily be the final boss in an adventure novel, yet here they were, forming a five-person team to save the Earth.

A true dream team of final bosses!

However...

"Why is this annoying brat part of the team?!"

"You think I want to be here, you golden roach?!"

Sakura glared at Arcueid, then looked up at Tiamat, who was holding her. "...I want to go home."

Tiamat, mistaking Sakura's discomfort for fear since the place was filled with baddies, patted her head. "There, there. Mother will keep you safe, little one." She then hoisted Sakura onto her shoulder.

Sakura: "..."

Let me down, this is so embarrassing! Sakura covered her face.

Pfft!

Arcueid couldn't help but snicker.

The Heaven's Corpse's expression suddenly turned serious. "Gaia," she warned, "I must remind you, Saturn and the others have already begun discussing judgment. We need to move quickly."

"I understand," Gaia nodded.

"But getting back to the point," Arcueid interjected, "while I understand the danger of this 'vortex' and the urgency of the situation, who exactly is our enemy? What are we supposed to do?"

"Eliminate the vortex and the helpers assisting its revival," Gaia explained.

"The vortex's helpers?"

"Yes," Gaia nodded. "The deterrent power of my main body has weakened, so the vortex's helpers have likely already crossed from the static dimensional realm into reality. We must eliminate these helpers before my siblings pass judgment on me."

With that, Gaia bowed deeply, clasping her hands before her chest. "Mina-sama, I can't do this alone. Please, I really need all of your help."

Everyone present was taken aback.

Arcueid: "...."

Well, Gaia had certainly taken her prank way too seriously.

...

In early 2004, a few months after the Fuyuki invasion, a black vortex, twisting the light around it, appeared in Fuyuki City, right on the head of an Ultraseven statue. Soon after, several figures in black cloaks silently stepped out of the vortex.

"Twisting the Beast of Revelation to invade this world. What a brilliant plan. Thanks to it, the planet's deterrent force has been destroyed. Even without the Holy Grail, I can manifest now."

"...The new vessel should be ready, and Ainsworth's Holy Grail has leaked into this reality. We can neutralize Alaya first and fully prepare for Master's revival."

"While we didn't destroy Eternal King's vessel, the twisted Beast has eroded Gaia's defenses, leaving her powerless to stop us. And since Eternal King has appeared, it means Saver has departed. With Gaia weakened and Saver gone, nothing can stand in our way."

"This is the final reset."

"Let's begin the operation!"

The cloaked figures nodded to one another, then prepared to scatter. But as they moved, they felt something was wrong.

Crack, crack, crack

The world around them shimmered, becoming as illusory as bubbles. Buildings and nature alike transformed into ice crystals. Even the Ultraseven statue beneath their feet turned into a gleaming ice sculpture.

"What is this—!?"

The cloaked figures were stunned.

Their heightened senses told them they had fallen into a meticulously crafted Reality Marble. No, this barrier was far beyond a mere Reality Marble. It was a world transformation.

A Reality Marble infused with world transformation was more powerful than a pure Reality Marble. And the barrier that now trapped the cloaked figures surpassed even Forest of Einnashe's Reality Marble.

It was almost like a true parallel world!